Parix-Roubaix

Hello everybody,

I've received from De Rosa Factory, a certificat of authenticity for one of my bike.
This certificat is for a 1974 Molteni bike.
Before received it, Ugo De Rosa had received fully detailled pictures of the bike with all the measures, details, etc...
For you, this document can prove the provenance of the bike?
Thanks and have a nice day.

Séb

Lascauxcaveman 

Yah, that Teddy Bear wouldn't lie, would he?

[edit] maybe I should go with "Eddy Bear"?

styggno1

It depends.

If you would add "fully detailled pictures of the bike with all the measures, details, etc..." and, more importantly, the story how you found it and some of the previous owners storys - and if it has its original paint - it would take you far.

Full or at least very near complete documentation/provenance together with that certificate would do the trick.

The certificate itself would not do it for me. I would stress that Ugo would/should write why it is one of Eddys former bikes - "it is marked XXX and that is unique for Eddy" or "this specific geometry was only made for Eddy" or something similar. Old Italian gentlemen (Ugo, Alberto, et al) have a certain flair for building their own legend and might not in every bit be that interested in historical correctness to the full extent. They have their own agenda sometimes.

When talking grail quality items, regardless of topic, the level of proof needed rise enormoulsy. Claiming to have a Eddy bike you have to prove beyond reasonable doubt it really is the real deal.

If not having the full documentation you will have to lay forth what you have and always be open and clear about the gaps. Letting people know and letting them value the documentation and draw their own conclusions.

For instance:
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...bike-long.html

repechage

Obtaining acceptable proof is always a problem. An in-person review would have greater validity for me.
Looks like a handsome bike.

Bikerider007

I have seen this certificate before, mentioned or tied to the bike that was listed for sale. I was not sure it was legit, the bear makes it tongue in cheek IMO. And if they only reviewed pics I don't understand the bear saying thanks? Did they have the bike or are you thanking them? Just asking as it's not clear why that is in there.

I corresponded with DeRosa and Christiano about a find on a bike. Was not sure it was legit due to gold foil decals and only finding one similar show piece on display, at an Italian cultural center in Canada. Very similar but did not have the chainstay decals this one had so I wanted to be sure it was not a custom rebrand. Anyway I was able to get verified as a late 78' Ugo built Elaborata with a Special Edition decal. I also documented the find, buy and search for answers on this site.

Long story short, I would imagine you also would have more than a certificate and should have email/mail correspondence from them. That should go to the buyer but be mentioned and they can verify. If you know it is legit and it can be proved then I would not worry about naysayers, but you have to be able to respond if someone asks.

Parix-Roubaix

Of course I have email/mail correspondence from them ;-)

styggno1

That is a nice thing.

On different note - as one newcomer to another here on BF - telling us you have an ex-Eddy bike and then not showing us some really nice photos of it...

Come on - give us some pictures!

Parix-Roubaix

Parix-Roubaix

this is still the original painting on it...

OldsCOOL

daf1009

I would not accept that as a certificate of authenticity...it could have been produced any where at any time. You would really need a lot more to truly prove provenance, at least in my opinion...

rootboy 

A signed note, from and signed by Ugo himself? Pretty cool.
I don't read Italian. What does it say?

Constructed for Eddy?

Kactus

Is this a Molteni Team bike or one Eddy rode? If you plan to keep this bike, provenance really means little other than for "bragging rights". However, if you plan to sell this bike some day, provenance could mean a difference of thousands of dollars. A throughly documented bike ridden by Merckx would be worth a lot of money to a collector, but I'm sure they would want prove beyond a reasonable doubt (certificate, email chain, photos, etc) of its authenticity.